An analysis of the appropriate use of the Caledon ambulance service in the Overberg

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Designing a public train station shelter to minimise anti-social behaviour and crime in Melbourne’s metropolitan rail environment

The Melbourne metropolitan train network has experienced incidents of anti-social behaviour and crime across the network over recent years. Identification of this problem has lead to design research aimed at exploring ways to minimise anti-social behaviour, improve passenger security and the perceptions of Melbourne’s railway system.A literature review has revealed that good sightlines and visibility, minimised obstructions, sufficient lighting solutions, and controlled access are the principal factors that contribute to a safe and successful station environment. The key findings, used as guidelines, are intended to inform a design process in developing a potential design solution that is novel and adaptable.This paper examines the design and function of a shelter system design concept emerging from the research, and how it might be implemented into Melbourne’s train network in the near future. It is proposed that the system not only deters anti-social behaviour and crime, but also improves the quality of life of patrons at varying railway stations

Design strategies for mitigating passenger door holding behavior on suburban trains in Paris

The length of time a train is halted at a station is particularly important during service peak periods and short headways. Some passenger behaviors, such as the deliberate holding open of doors, has a detrimental effect upon maintaining short dwell times and service timetable. Mechanical malfunction due to door holding is also a significant contributor to trains having to be removed from service.There is a general absence of literature in the transportation field examining this problem or offering potential solutions. This paper discusses a commissioned research project carried out by Monash University’s Department of Design for the French National Railway (SNCF). The method for this research drew upon techniques from other related disciplines to aid in the formulation of a design strategy to mitigate passenger door holding behavior.Leveraging the physical design of the environment to provoke desired behaviors in people is a technique widely used in various disciplines from large architectural projects to more subtle uses of applied psychology. This paper describes the background to the problem as it manifests itself on SNCF’s network in the Ile-de-France and discusses potential design solutions that may have pertinence for other networks similarly afflicted around the world

An examination of three approaches to metro rolling stock design to ameliorate extended dwell times due to passenger growth and associated crowding.

Increased patronage of suburban rail in many cities of the world has effected network performance. Crowding, especially during peak travel times detrimentally effects dwell times thus reducing network capacity. This paper examines three approaches undertaken by three rail operators to the design of rolling stock in order to ameliorate this problem. Each of the network operations examined in this paper were selected due to their different approaches to the problem but reflecting their own set of circumstances. Stockholm Lokaltrafik AB ran experimental carriages amongst its regular system to determine a new interior carriage design. The Melbourne suburban rail system explored expanding the door vestibule area. The third example, Rio de Janeiro’s Metro, considered both the train interior and platform geometry to reduce dwell times. The research reveals that in each case there is a great deal of pressure to remove seating from the carriage, a policy that often contradicts passenger perceptions of comfort. The purpose of this examination is to inform the design of new rolling stock interiors for future research

Tracking magmatism and oceanic change through the early Aptian Anoxic Event (OAE 1a) to the late Aptian: Insights from osmium isotopes from the westernmost Tethys (SE Spain) Cau Core

Some of the major Carbon cycle perturbations of the Phanerozoic occurred during the Aptian, in relation to magmatism. The highest temperatures reconstructed for the Cretaceous Period correspond to the Oceanic Anoxic Event of the early Aptian (OAE 1a), an episode of accelerated global change. Here we present a chemostratigraphic study based on osmium isotopes integrated with high-resolution Carbon-Oxygen stable isotope data from the Cau Core (Western Tethys, SE Spain), including a 6.4 Ma record from the early to the late Aptian. This high-resolution study of the continuous and expanded Cau section permits a thorough understanding of the duration of the Aptian events, as well as an evaluation of the mechanisms triggering the abrupt changes of the global carbon and osmium cycles and their interdependence. Here we show that the Large Igneous Province (LIP) Aptian magmatism initiated 550–750 kyr prior to the OAE 1a, and persisted for 1.4 Myr after the event, influencing the composition of seawater for 2.8 Myr. We show a continuous Os isotope record encompassing the OAE 1a and the late Aptian for the first time, and demonstrate that the recovery from the exceptionally unradiogenic composition of seawater Os produced by the dominance of the Ontong Java Plateau volcanism, was slow. Our results demonstrate the different time duration of some events, and the asynchronous relationship between the carbon and osmium cycles

Citizen advisory groups for the creation and improvement of decision aids: experience from two Swiss centers for primary care.

Guidelines for patient decision aids (DA) recommend target population involvement throughout the development process, but developers may struggle because of limited resources. We sought to develop a feasible means of getting repeated feedback from users. Between 2017 and 2020, two Swiss centers for primary care (Lausanne and Bern) created citizen advisory groups to contribute to multiple improvement cycles for colorectal, prostate and lung cancer screening DAs. Following Community Based Participatory Research principles, we collaborated with local organizations to recruit citizens aged 50 to 75 without previous cancer diagnoses. We remunerated incidental costs and participant time. One center supplemented in-person meetings by mailed paper questionnaires, while the other supplemented meetings using small-group workshops and analyses of meeting transcripts. In Lausanne, we received input from 49 participants for three DAs between 2017 and 2020. For each topic, participants gave feedback on the initial draft and 2 subsequent versions during in-person meetings with ~ 8 participants and one round of mailed questionnaires. In Bern, 10 participants were recruited among standardized patients from the university, all of whom attended in-person meetings every three months between 2017 and 2020. At both sites, numerous changes were made to the content, appearance, language, and tone of DAs and outreach materials. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the participative process. Citizen advisory groups are a feasible means of repeatedly incorporating end-user feedback during the creation of multiple DAs. Methodological differences between the two centers underline the need for a flexible model adapted to local needs

The effects of acute exercise on tobacco cravings and withdrawal symptoms in temporary abstinent pregnant smokers

Introduction: Smoking during pregnancy is common, and quitting at any point during pregnancy can yield benefits to both the fetus and mother. Smoking cessation is typically followed by withdrawal symptoms and a strong desire to smoke, both of which are likely to contribute to relapse. Research has shown that a bout of exercise minimizes cravings and tobacco withdrawal symptoms (TWS) after temporary abstinence in smokers, but these findings have not been replicated in pregnant smokers. This study examined the effect of 20. min of exercise on cravings (primary outcome) and TWS (secondary outcomes) among temporary abstinent, inactive pregnant smokers. Methods: Thirty female smokers (Mean(M) age = 25.7. years, Standard Deviation(SD) = 5.5; M weeks pregnant = 18.2, SD = 5.3; Fagerstrom Test for Cigarette Dependence = 3.3, SD = 2.2; M 9.3 cigarettes/day, SD = 4.7; M hours abstained = 17.2, SD = 2.8) were randomized to 20. min of mild-to-moderate intensity exercise (EC; n= 14) or passive (PC; n= 16) condition. Cravings and TWS were assessed immediately before, during (at 10. min), immediately post, and at 10, 20, and 30. min post-condition. Results: A 2 (condition)×6 (time) repeated measures ANOVA revealed that the EC significantly (p\u3c0.05) reduced cravings (ή2=0.46) compared with the PC, across time. Non-significant, but nevertheless, large effects were evident favouring the EC over time for TWS restlessness (ή2=0.34), stress (ή2=0.24), irritability (ή2=0.21), tension (ή2=0.15), and depression (ή2=0.14). Conclusions: Consistent with previous research, this study reveals that in pregnant smokers, a bout of exercise is associated with a reduction in cravings and similar patterns exist for TWS. Therefore, exercise may have the potential to assist in the initial stages of smoking cessation attempts during pregnancy. © 2013

Long-Term Corticosteroid-Sparing Immunosuppression for Cardiac Sarcoidosis.

Background Long-term corticosteroid therapy is the standard of care for treatment of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). The efficacy of long-term corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppression in CS is unknown. The goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of methotrexate with or without adalimumab for long-term disease suppression in CS, and to assess recurrence and adverse event rates after immunosuppression discontinuation. Methods and Results Retrospective chart review identified treatment-naive CS patients at a single academic medical center who received corticosteroid-sparing maintenance therapy. Demographics, cardiac uptake of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose, and adverse cardiac events were compared before and during treatment and between those with persistent or interrupted immunosuppression. Twenty-eight CS patients were followed for a mean 4.1 (SD 1.5) years. Twenty-five patients received 4 to 8 weeks of high-dose prednisone (>30 mg/day), followed by taper and maintenance therapy with methotrexate±low-dose prednisone (low-dose prednisone, <10 mg/day). Adalimumab was added in 19 patients with persistently active CS or in those with intolerance to methotrexate. Methotrexate±low-dose prednisone resulted in initial reduction (88%) or elimination (60%) of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake, and patients receiving adalimumab-containing regimens experienced improved (84%) or resolved (63%) 18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake. Radiologic relapse occurred in 8 of 9 patients after immunosuppression cessation, 4 patients on methotrexate-containing regimens, and in no patients on adalimumab-containing regimens. Conclusions Corticosteroid-sparing regimens containing methotrexate with or without adalimumab is an effective maintenance therapy in patients after an initial response is confirmed. Disease recurrence in patients on and off immunosuppression support need for ongoing radiologic surveillance regardless of immunosuppression regimen

Evolution of electronic and ionic structure of Mg-clusters with the growth cluster size

The optimized structure and electronic properties of neutral and singly charged magnesium clusters have been investigated using ab initio theoretical methods based on density-functional theory and systematic post-Hartree-Fock many-body perturbation theory accounting for all electrons in the system. We have systematically calculated the optimized geometries of neutral and singly charged magnesium clusters consisting of up to 21 atoms, electronic shell closures, binding energies per atom, ionization potentials and the gap between the highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals. We have investigated the transition to the hcp structure and metallic evolution of the magnesium clusters, as well as the stability of linear chains and rings of magnesium atoms. The results obtained are compared with the available experimental data and the results of other theoretical works.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, 3 table